Cleaning up the Cedarhurst and Atlantic Beach waterways

Hurricane Sandy storm debris to be removed

Mott’s Creak in Cedarhurst is one of the Nassau County waterways targeted for clean-up through the waterway debris removal operation that will be funded by FEMA money.

Jeffrey Bessen/Herald

By Jeff Bessen

Cedarhurst and Atlantic Beach villages are two of the seven municipalities that entered into an agreement with Nassau County to be part of the waterway debris removal operation, which will be funded with $12,171,897 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to clean up refuse left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

In Cedarhurst, the money will be used to clean up Mott’s Creek, a tributary of Jamaica Bay that runs behind Lawrence High School, according to village officials. The Reynolds Channel in the Atlantic Beach area will also be cleaned up.

During a survey conducted by the county’s Department of Public Works, which will manage the removal operation, debris could include wood from docks and pilings, construction and demolition materials, roofs and walls, appliances and other household items, and trees and branches that washed up on shore will also be removed.

“The project is scheduled to begin within the next couple of weeks and depending upon production and weather could take six months or more,” said Michael Martino, the department’s spokesman.

The money is not divided by municipalities, but by zones where assessments of debris was documented, which includes marsh islands, wetlands and canals, along submerged items such as sunken boats and other water craft identified by sonar.

Long Beach, Island Park, the Town of Hempstead, Freeport and Oyster Bay are the other municipalities that also entered into an agreement with the county for the work to be performed.

“These new funds will go a long way in protecting swimmers, boaters and marine life from debris that remains in our waterways,” County Executive Ed Mangano stated in a press release.